It was 2 a.m. on the loop road around the lake.
A female streamer named "Little Sugar Bean" was out of breath, live-streaming her night run to her phone camera. Under the beauty filter, her delicate makeup still couldn't hide her tiredness.
"Fam, I'm challenging a ten-kilometer night run today—only the last kilometer left. Give me a like!"
As she spoke, she adjusted her breathing, and the camera shook slightly with her movements. In the live-stream chat, sparse comments drifted by.
"Go streamer!""Be careful, it's so late at night."
Just as she rounded a corner, the sight in front of her made her stop in fear, and a short scream escaped her lips.
"Ah!"
The phone camera shook violently for a moment, then stabilized, pointing at the lake ahead.
Everyone in the live-stream saw the scene clearly.
The entire Yanguigui Lake was now completely shrouded in a glowing, colorful mist. The lake seemed to have come alive—sparkling with waves that reflected neon-like seven-colored light. The distant central island loomed in the mist, like the legendary Penglai Immortal Island.
The chat froze for 0.5 seconds, then exploded at a volcanic pace.
"What the hell?!""Is this special effects? Streamer, when did you start collaborating with a film crew?""No! Look at that willow tree—it's transparent! These special effects are too real!""OMG! The location is in Donghai City! Is this for real? Any brothers nearby want to check it out?"
The number of viewers in Little Sugar Bean's live-stream skyrocketed at an unprecedented rate—from a few hundred to over ten thousand in an instant, then fifty thousand, then one hundred thousand!
At the same time, in a high-end apartment in Donghai City.
Investigative journalist Ji Xiaotang was woken up from her sleep by a urgent phone call. She picked up her phone, her tone impatient: "It better be something that would make the sky fall."
"Boss! The sky really is falling! Watch Little Sugar Bean's live-stream!" Her assistant's voice on the other end was so excited it was distorted.
Ji Xiaotang frowned and clicked on the link her assistant had sent. When the dreamlike seven-colored lake surface came into her view, all her sleepiness vanished instantly. She sat up suddenly from the bed, her eyes shining with the excited light of a shark that had smelled blood.
Her professional intuition told her immediately that this was definitely not a light show or special effects.
This was a major news story that could change her career as a journalist!
She made a quick decision, her voice turning cold and sharp: "Get the word out—all Group A members of the 'Truth Hunter' studio, immediately form a top-priority task force! I want to see the first on-site investigation report before dawn!"
As dawn broke, the first light of day tore through the night that enshrouded the city.
Most of the seven-colored mist by Yanguigui Lake had dissipated, leaving only a thin layer of white mist that made the air unusually fresh.
Wang Hu, a fitness coach, wore a tight vest that showed off his well-developed muscles. As usual, he came to the open space by the lake to exercise.
Whew—
He let out a long breath, feeling refreshed and energetic, as if he had an endless supply of strength throughout his body.
"Great! I'm in good shape today!"
He assumed a stance, imitating the moves described in martial arts novels, and punched with great momentum. When he finished his set, he got playful and, imitating a martial arts master, pushed forward at a distance towards the open space in front of him, and geekily muttered under his breath: "Ha!"
The next second, something incredible happened.
A faint but clearly visible white airflow gushed out from his palm, instantly blowing away all the fallen leaves within one meter in front of him!
Wang Hu froze completely.
He stared blankly at his hands, then at the circular area on the ground where the leaves had been blown away, his mind completely empty.
It took him a full minute to snap back to reality. Instead of being scared, he was overcome with an extreme, volcanic ecstasy!
"Internal energy! It's internal energy! Hahaha!"
He trembled with excitement and laughed loudly, tilting his head back.
"I knew it! I, Wang Hu, am indeed a martial arts prodigy chosen by fate! This is a chance! An absolute once-in-a-lifetime chance!"
...
In the partitioned rental room.
Chen Mo woke up to intense headaches, feeling as if someone had been hitting his head with a hammer all night.
He struggled to sit up, and his first action was to check his consciousness.
The interface of the [Reality Editor] had returned to normal, no longer gray. The line of text saying "Compiling" had also disappeared.
Compiling... completed?
His heart rose, and his gaze eagerly moved to the upper left corner.
Then, he was completely stunned by what he saw.
In the [World Essence] section, which should have shown "0," the number was now skyrocketing at a crazy speed.
20... 57... 134... 289...
It felt like watching a Bitcoin mining machine that had been left on all night—only to wake up in the morning and find that he had struck a gold mine!
"What... what is this..."
Chen Mo was dumbfounded. He quickly rushed to the computer, fumbling to open the browser.
With just one look, he understood.
All social platforms, all news websites—front pages, headlines, top trending topics—were dominated by a single hashtag.
[#YanguiguiLakeMiracle#]
He tremblingly clicked on a drone video with the highest number of views.
In the video, the "masterpiece" he had single-handedly created was perfectly presented by the high-definition camera: the glowing lake surface, the dreamlike mist, the crystal-clear willow tree... Every frame was filled with mystery and grandeur.
And in the background of his editor, lines of light blue notifications were popping up like crazy.
[Gained 1 World Essence from 'awe'][Gained 1 World Essence from 'curiosity'][Gained 1 World Essence from 'shock']...
"We're rich... we're rich!" Chen Mo looked at his Essence balance, which had exceeded 500, and let out an excited low cry.
He refreshed the news page and, under an official announcement, saw a comment from his neighbor Du Shao: "It's obviously a light show organized by the government to promote tourism—flashy and unnecessary. I saw through it a long time ago, this young master did."
Chen Mo sneered and closed the comment section.
Mortals.
He felt that he and these mortals—still arguing about whether it was a light show—were no longer on the same dimension. He was the god hiding behind the scenes, plucking the strings of the world.
Just as Chen Mo was immersed in the great joy of his surging Essence, preparing to enjoy the spectacle caused by his "creation," a top news alert popped up suddenly.
The bright red headline was like a bucket of ice water, pouring down on him.
"National Emergency Response Department Has Deployed; Yanguigui Lake Park Announced Closed Indefinitely".